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Look for new ways to give gift of time

Posted: November 25, 2012 - 1:15am

Savannah

We have already begun decorating for Christmas at my house.

I absolutely love this time of year. I look forward to baking cookies, watching holiday films, listening to holiday music, shopping, wrapping gifts, taking photos and purchasing special ornaments for my children. It’s the traditions that my family members seem to remember each year, not the gifts that they receive.

This year, my family and I will start a new tradition.

I recently learned that the Savannah Harbor Foundation will become a twinkling wonderland, with more than 60 larger-than-life lighted, holiday-themed displays.

The Savannah Morning News and Savannah Magazine are both sponsors of this great event.

The large-scale light displays will be staged around the 2-mile track where cars, trolleys and horse-drawn carriages can drive through at a leisurely pace and enjoy animated pirate ships, holiday scenes, dinosaurs and a drive-through tunnel of lights.

Visitors can park at the Pit and Paddock area at the end of the drive-through and partake in a variety of festive, family-friendly activities, warm up by the bonfire with hot chocolate and S’mores and enjoy all the sights and sounds of the holidays. Special weekend programming is scheduled throughout the season to enhance this experience.

Admission is $20 a car and that includes a $5 refreshment voucher. For more information about the event, go to savannahharborfestivaloflights.com.

GIVE THE GIFT OF TIME

Sadly, some people dread this time of year because of the amount of money that they must spend to pull off the perfect holiday.

This year, I am challenging you to spend less and give more. Spend less on material things and give more time and love.

Instead of purchasing all of those toys that will eventually end up at the bottom of a toy box, why not give your friends or relatives gift certificates to local attractions? Be sure to go with them for the event. (You can also make your own gift certificates, and pay for the trip when you go.)

The idea is to spend time with your loved one doing something they enjoy.

We have the perfect spot right in Pooler to create some great family memories; you will find a movie theater, bowling alley and roller skating rink all located very close together. Five Star Family Fun Park offers miniature golf, go-carts and more. The gift of time is also a great gift to get anyone who seems to have absolutely everything.

Perhaps instead of exchanging gifts with another family this year, you can all plan to take the money that you would have spent on gifts and put it toward an outing you will all enjoy together.

LEARN HOW TO GIVE MEANINGFUL GIFTS

If you are purchasing a gift for a small child, consider giving books, board games or arts and crafts items.

These gifts allow you to spend some quality time with the recipient.

One of my very dear friends does 25 days of Christmas and wraps up 25 books and gives them to a family. Their children get to open one book a day.

What a great way to spend the countdown for the holidays, snuggling and reading a book together. You can always pick up gently used books on eBay or at a garage sale. The Dollar Tree sells many books for only $1. There are also many ways to save money on the gifts that you will be purchasing.

SAVE MONEY BY PURCHASING GENTLY USED ITEMS

Consider purchasing some of the items used but in good condition.

I belong to several groups on Facebook that advertise items that are for sale or free. One of them is For Sale, Wanted or Free in Effingham.

I have seen Wii systems with games posted, Xbox systems and many other items posted for much cheaper than what you would find the item for if it were new.

Do a search for a similar group in your area. The rules of the group are usually that the item has to be for sale in that area and won’t require travel out of the area to pick it up. You don’t necessarily have to live in that area but must be willing to travel to it to pick up your items.

Be sure to follow common sense safety rules when arranging for purchase; always arrange to meet in a public place if you do not know the buyer or seller.

You can also try eBay and Craigs-List for used items. Be very careful with these sites. We recently tried to purchase a car from CraigsList and the person was trying to scam us. A quick Google search of their email address allowed me to quickly determine that I wasn’t the only one this person was trying to scam.

Make sure you use PayPal to pay for any transactions through eBay because PayPal extends protection to the buyer. Also be sure to read any feedback that has been left on PayPal about the seller.

MAKE MONEY FOR YOUR HOLIDAY SHOPPING

If you need to make some money fast for your holiday shopping, consider joining one of these groups and posting your own items for sale. It’s much quicker than having a yard sale, and you are more likely to get the price that you are asking for. Always read the terms and conditions of the group, and be sure to follow them.

SMARTPHONES HELP YOU GET THE BEST DEAL

Shopping competitively has never been easier for the consumer. Now we can use our smartphone, iPad or tablet to search for the best deals, even when standing in line.

Never pay for an application that will help you save money; there are too many free apps out there that are just as good, if not better.

Below are some of my favorite mobile apps:

• FourSquare. Check into your favorite places using the app FourSquare, and some of them may have coupons or special offers available just for you “checking in.”

• Rather Be Shopping. This new iPhone app offers in-store coupons that allow shoppers to present the coupon at checkout at popular stores like Old Navy, Gap and Macy’s. Cashiers just scan your iPhone and you collect the savings.

• Retail Me Not. The RetailMeNot coupons app features a huge variety of coupons, deals and special offers to the stores and restaurants you love most.

• ShopKick. You get rewarded just for walking into stores like Target, Macy’s, Best Buy, Old Navy and Crate & Barrel. Get even more kicks when you scan items and make purchases. Forget sales and coupons. You can find great discounts and deals in the app. It’s a magical experience, and it’s free. You can redeem kicks to treat yourself with a free latte at Starbucks, gift cards at many stores, iTunes song downloads and even designer merchandise and trips.

• ShopSavvy. Find the best online and local prices. Simply use your smartphone to scan the bar code on the item and you will be given a list of online and local prices for that item.

CYBER MONDAY TIPS

Tomorrow is Cyber Monday and many online stores will be offering great deals.

While it is fun to shop from the comfort of your own home, don’t forget about the small businesses in our area who may have some very unique items for some of the recipients on your list.

For those of you who will be shopping online, follow these tips to get the most out of your shopping experience:

• Be sure to make sure you are shopping on a secured site to prevent identity theft. (Look for https in the web browser; if you only see http, then the chances are great that the browser isn’t a secure browser).

• Shop using a site that will reward you with cash back on all of your purchases. You will find the best deals this way. Two of my favorites are www.ebates.com and www.shopathome.com You can still use coupon codes and take advantage of popular sales at Old Navy, American Eagle, Bass Pro, Bath and Body Works and many other popular stores; by shopping through Ebates or Shop at Home, you also get rewarded with a percentage of your purchases.

• Look for coupon codes and free shipping codes. Couponmountain.com and ratherbeshopping.com are a couple of my favorites.

• Check to see if you can have the item shipped to a local store for free to avoid shipping charges.

• Pay attention to special offers. A friend just saved $50 on her order by applying for an Amazon credit card. (Be sure to pay it off each month or it won’t be worth the savings you score.) Amazon also offers free Amazon Prime for a month, but you will be charged after the month is up so if you don’t want to continue the service, be sure to read the terms and conditions and cancel your membership on time.

PRICE-MATCHING AND PRICE GUARANTEES

Make sure you are spending the least amount possible for everything on your list. Use price-matching and price guarantees to help you accomplish this.

• Price-match. Target, Walmart, HHGregg and Best Buy are a few of the stores in our area that match competitor pricing. Target will price-match target.com, walmart.com and amazon.com this holiday season. Walmart will not price match walmart.com. Be sure to sign up for a website that will help you track prices for free; freepricealerts.com is a great site that will allow you to track prices.

• Price guarantee. Always save your receipts. Even after you have purchased an item, you can still continue to watch for that item to go on sale and request a refund of the difference between what you paid and the sales price.

TAKE ADVANTAGE OF STORES’ GIFT CARD OFFERS

If a store is having a gift card promotion, take advantage of it. Many stores and restaurants are offering promotions this time of year.

Even if you aren’t planning to give gift cards as a gift and prefer those nicely wrapped packages, I encourage you to take advantage of these deals.

If you are planning to shop at Home Depot, go to a store offering Home Depot cards. Purchase the dollar amount you were planning on spending and then use the gift cards to pay for your items.

Shopping this way allows you to get those items at Home Depot and take advantage of the extra store incentives being offered.

FACEBOOK CAN LEAD TO SOME SERIOUS SAVINGS

Before you head out shopping, be sure to check out your favorite stores Facebook pages for valuable coupons. Be sure to follow Savannah Savvy Shopper at www.facebook.com/savannahsavvyshopper and you will find great deals in our area posted by myself (The Savannah Savvy Shopper) and others in our community.

If you have already liked the page, hover over the “Liked” icon and select “Get Notifications” and “Show in News Feed” to make sure you get notifications of new things that have been posted.

Send your tips or questions to Savvy Shopper Michelle Rubrecht at savvyshopper@savannahnow.com or post them to Facebook at Savannah Savvy Shopper.

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